Author: Amrit Santlani
Cagliari – Inter – 0:2
Inter Milan continued their 100% winning streak in Serie A by beating Cagliari 2-0 to remain in contention for the Scudetto. Closing out the second round of Serie A games with a trip to the Sardegna Arena on Monday, Simone Inzaghi’s side claimed a simple victory without too much fuss thanks to goals from captain Lautaro Martinez and Denzel Dumfries. The Dutchman opened the scoring in the 21st minute, while Lautaro scored his third goal of the new season, having scored twice against Monza last week.
The Argentinian had already hit the crossbar 14 minutes after the kick, with a powerful shot from his weaker left foot, and the ball hit the post, although Cagliari survived. But it wasn’t to be for long: summer signing Marcus Thuram slipped a pass through to Dumfries, and the full-back managed to score from a tight angle, beating Boris Radunović and two other defenders – 0-1.
Nahitan Nández received a precise pass from behind for Inter’s goal, but before he could score, Hakan Çalhanoğlu made an excellent last-ditch save.
Federico Dimarco combined with Martínez just before the half-hour mark, the Argentine striker controlled the ball and finished with ease to put Inter two goals ahead. It was the Inter Milan captain’s ninth goal in as many games against Cagliari.
Shortly after the hour mark, Zito Luvumbo was denied a penalty. The home fans were furious when the Angolan striker dribbled past two Inter defenders before being brought down by Juan Cuadrado.
The Colombian was also in action at the other end of the pitch: he played a pass to Çalhanoğlu on the edge of the box, the Turkish midfielder took a brilliant shot, but the ball hit the bottom post, saving Cagliari.
Brazilian Paulo Daniel Dentello Azzi, who came on as a substitute in the 60th minute, could sweeten Cagliari’s defeat in the 90th minute. After receiving the ball on the edge of the box, he shot too weakly – so it’s not possible to hit Sommer. Another Brazilian representative, Carlos Augusto, came on for Inter in the 71st minute.
Brazilian performance in the second round
Fiorentina – Lecce – 2-2
As part of Fiorentina, right-back Dodô spent the entire match. His fellow countryman, Arthur Melo, played 72 minutes, but in that time managed to provide one assist. In the 25th minute, Duncan took advantage of his cross to make it 2-0. Incidentally, Duncan could have made it 3-0 before half-time, but he hit the post. In the second half, Lecce equalized in the 76th minute. Note that the visitors’ captain, Brazilian Streffets, was substituted in the 86th minute.
Salernitana – Udinese – 1:1
The captain of “Udinese”, Brazilian Wallace, spent the entire match on the pitch, recalling three episodes. Six minutes into the first half, he shot into the center of the goal, to the goalkeeper’s right. In the 10th minute, he hit an inaccurate shot from long range. And in the 94th minute, he received a yellow card for arguing with the referee. The goals were scored without his participation. In the 57th minute, Samardzic put the visitors ahead and fifteen minutes later Dia equalized.